Blues urged to 'stay hungry'

LONDON • Chelsea will attempt to extend their unbeaten run under Thomas Tuchel to 12 matches when they travel to face Leeds today.

Since the 47-year-old took over in January after Frank Lampard was sacked, the Blues have turned around their season, sitting fourth in the Premier League, in the last eight of the FA Cup and leading Atletico Madrid 1-0 going into the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash.

That tie will conclude at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday but before then, Chelsea have business to take care of, with a top-flight win at Leeds their immediate priority, according to Tuchel.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference yesterday, the German said: "In football, there's no harder match than the next one.

"Tomorrow, if we take care of our performance and have the right mentality and attitude, we increase our chance to win. If we win, the table takes care of itself.

"I like to look up but we need to stay hungry, and we are in the middle of a race and a challenge. Where we want to end is clear."

With six victories and just two goals conceded in the nine league games Tuchel has taken charge of, Chelsea will be the favourites today even though Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham are set to miss out.

One player who is hoping to feature will be forward Christian Pulisic.

A mainstay under Lampard, the United States international continued involvement in the first team had been expected as Tuchel worked with him while the pair were at Borussia Dortmund.

However, Pulisic has played only 134 minutes and has yet to start a league game under the former Paris Saint-Germain boss.

Tuchel wants the 22-year-old to "stay patient", insisting he remains part of his plans.​

11 Unbeaten games for Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel took charge. The Blues have eight wins and three draws.

"He is in my plans, he's an important player," he said.

"I hope that he stays patient, all of my players are competitors and want to play every single minute and this is what they show every day, the hunger and desire and this is what Christian shows.

"In the beginning, he was a little unlucky because we knew how much of an impact he could have off the bench and we used this power and strength from him."

Pulisic is likely to come off the bench at some time during the game, which Tuchel is predicting to be cut and thrust, given Leeds' Argentinian manager Marcelo Bielsa's propensity for a flat-out attack.

"There are big teams out there with big history, strong players, strong history. Bielsa is one of the most fascinating managers out there and a big personality," he said.

"Like with any game, I don't put the pressure on myself. I don't need to out-tactic Marcelo Bielsa. We will focus on us, how to attack and how to defend."

Leeds, in 11th place and on 35 points, will be without defender Pascal Struijk and midfielder Pablo Hernandez but otherwise have a full squad to pick from as they seek to get closer to 40 points, widely considered to be the mark whereby safety from relegation is assured.

REUTERS

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LEEDS V CHELSEA

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